A Shippo Story
by lil'japanime
Summary: SideStory for 'After Twelve Years'... Shippo's living with Kagome and InuYasha again after being away for two years... But when a cute fox demon named Mayu comes to town, will he choose her over his family? Rated T to be safe.
1. Fox Demon

_Disclaimer: Ok yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and I never will so let's get on with the story._

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_**To the Readers:** Hey people! I'm back again! Ok so this story is about Shippo and Mayu (the girl described at the end of 'After Twelve Years'). It'll still have some InuKag moments and some fun parts with Shirrow, Noriko, and Kotaro… but it'll mostly be centered on Shippo's story. Anyway I hope you enjoy it. (I'll apologize in advance for not updating as quickly with this one, since I'm writing this one from scratch. Whereas with my other two stories, I had already written those out and I could post one chapter after another.) _

_-Japanime625 _

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**CHAPTER ONE: Fox Demon**

It was a beautiful day in feudal Japan. Shippo, the young fox demon, was relaxing by a stream close by InuYasha and Kagome's home. He had a lot to think over…

He was fifteen now. His once bushy tail was now long and fluffy. He had gotten taller, too. He was up to a little over InuYasha's waist line. He had been traveling with a group of fox demons for two years and he had just returned home. He never really wanted to leave. InuYasha had made him travel with them so that he could 'learn how to be a fox demon'. Shippo didn't see what the point was. So he wouldn't know a few things about fox demons… big deal. It didn't matter to him.

When he had first arrived home, Kagome, Shirrow, Noriko, and Kotaro ((A/N: for those of you that didn't read _A Funny Thing Called Love_ or _After Twelve Years_… the last three names are the names of Kagome and InuYasha's kids)) had been kidnapped. Shippo helped as much as he could at the time, but he ended up just babysitting Miroku and Sango's kids, Mushin and Sakura, while everyone else got to do the rescuing.

When they were rescued and brought back home, Kagome and the kids were excited to see Shippo again. That is… everyone except for Kotaro. He was only a newborn when Shippo left so he wasn't even sure who he was. Nevertheless, Kotaro began following Shippo around like he did his brother and sister.

So now, everything was back to normal. Well, as normal as things could get in feudal Japan. Shippo would help Kagome out around the house, play with his 'siblings' and occasionally he had some time to himself. He wouldn't have to keep Shirrow and Mushin out of trouble… or have a tea party with Noriko… or baby-sit Kotaro and Sakura… he could just relax.

Shippo rolled over and got up. It was getting late and he had to head back home. Kagome was probably wondering where he was. So he began walking towards home.

……………………….

"I wonder where Shippo is…" Kagome said to no one particular. She was busily making dinner with the help of her 7-year old daughter, Noriko. "He's usually home by now."

InuYasha looked up from where he was playing with Kotaro, their 2-year old son. "Don't worry about him, Kagome. He can take care of himself." He looked down at Kotaro. "Right, buddy?"

"Yeah, Daddy!" Kotaro agreed happily.

"I suppose…" Kagome said hesitantly.

……………………….

Meanwhile, Shippo had come across one of the villagers. He was elderly and was out fishing with his 5-year old grandson. They had caught more then they could carry and needed Shippo's help to get it all back to the village. Although it was out of his way to go Kaede's village and then come back, he agreed to help them.

_Kagome won't mind if I'm a little late for dinner…_ He thought. _Besides, Shirrow's prob'ly not even home yet either. He's prob'ly still with Mushin…_

With that thought in mind, Shippo picked up as much as he could. Which, by the way, was about a third of what they had caught.

They arrived at the village in under a half hour. Shippo brought the fish to the man's home and helped store the extra fish. He said good-bye and was on his way back home within the hour. He was going to be later than he anticipated, but he knew that Kagome would understand. InuYasha on the other hand, wouldn't be as happy about him having everyone wait for him to arrive before they eat.

_I guess InuYasha being angry is to be expected… I mean, I AM pretty late. I should've been home over an hour ago… Oh well, maybe they started eating without me. I wouldn't mind if they did…_

And so, Shippo arrived home and they had waited for him before eating. InuYasha was seething in a corner of the main room because he had to wait to eat. He didn't say anything about Shippo's tardiness, but shot him an annoyed look which Shippo interpreted as: "You should've been back two hours ago. Don't let it happen again."

…………………………..

The day ended and after a good night's sleep, a bright new day began. Shippo groaned. He had to spend the day keeping Shirrow and Mushin out of trouble. Ever since the incident with Taromaru, Shirrow had started getting into more trouble. He wasn't trying to, it just sort of happened…

"I don't see why you have to follow me 'round today…" Shirrow said, annoyed. "It's not like I MEANT to push that old guy into the river… I was only trying to help him carry stuff…"

"Well," Shippo started, "it seems like every time you try to 'help', someone ends up getting hurt."

"So what? You want me to stop helping people now?"

"No, I'm just saying that if you're gonna help someone, try not to kill them in the process…"

"Hey! I haven't killed anyone!"

"Yeah, not yet." Shippo teased.

"Hmph…"

"Well, c'mon. If you're gonna spend the day in the village with Mushin, we'll have to get over to his house before the year ends… So hurry up."

"Yeah, yeah... whatever…"

And so the two boys made their way over to Miroku and Sango's home. When they arrived, Mushin was helping his father bring firewood into the house. Shirrow ran up to them and greeted his best friend and his 'uncle'.

"C'mon, Mushin!" he said, pulling on his friend's shirt. "We're going to the village today, remember?"

"I know. I just have to bring this wood inside… Then we can go."

Shirrow grabbed half of what Mushin had been carrying and walked with his friend into the house.

"So, Shippo," Miroku said. "How have you been?"

"I've been okay. It's kind of weird being back though…"

Miroku raised his eye brows. "Really? How so?"

"I dunno… as weird as it might sound, it's gotten kind of… boring… around here… I don't mean that in a bad way. It's just, you know… I was out on my own and now I'm back here…"

"Ah, I see… you want to be on your own again… without having to worry about being home on time for meals?" Miroku smiled.

Shippo laughed. "Well, yeah… You know how InuYasha is. He hates waiting for food."

Shirrow and Mushin rushed out of the house. Shirrow tackled Shippo, who fell to the ground and pushed his 'little brother' off and laughed as he ruffled Shirrow's hair.

Shirrow pushed Shippo's hand away and stood up. "C'mon, Shippo. Mom won't let me go to the village without you, so let's go."

"Alright, alright…"

Shippo stood up and they said their good-byes. Mushin promised to be home in time for dinner and they were off. It was a fairly short walk to the village. Miroku and Sango's house was closer to it than InuYasha and Kagome's. They arrived in the village and after walking around with Shirrow and Mushin for an hour, Shippo wanted to go off on his own for a while. He pulled Shirrow in close.

"Alright, Shirrow, tell you what… You don't want me to follow you around all day, and I don't really want to follow you around all day, right?"

"Right."

"Alright, then I'm gonna go do my own thing and you guys can do whatever it is that you do."

Mushin looked excitedly at Shippo. "You mean we can walk around by ourselves?"

"Yep. Just stay close to the village and DON'T get into any trouble… I'll come back in a couple hours to get you guys and then we'll go back home."

Shirrow jumped up happily. "Awesome! Thanks, Shippo! You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know…" Shippo smirked. "Just keep it between the three of us, and if anyone asks where I am just say I had to go to the bathroom or something."

Shirrow and Mushin were already running off down the road towards the river. They waved back and yelled a reply in agreement.

Shippo smiled to himself and made his way through the village. He wasn't looking for anything particular. He was just looking around… examining new things that were in the shops... He stopped to pay his respects to Kaede's grave. The priestess had passed away shortly after Kotaro was born and a few weeks before Shippo left to live with other fox demons. She was buried next to Kikyo's shrine.

Shippo walked back down the long staircase. Once he reached the bottom he turned to make his way towards the river that ran through the village. He would go relax for a while until he decided on something else to do with his time off.

"Excuse me, could you tell me where I could buy some cloth?"

Shippo turned to the source of the voice. It was a girl. But not just any girl… She was a fox demon just like he was. She wore a worn-out, pink shirt with a flower pattern on it with a long green skirt. She had long, redish-brown hair which she had in a pony tail and light blue eyes. To Shippo, she was gorgeous.

_Wow… _Shippo thought. _She's really cute…_

"Did you hear me?" the girl asked. "I asked where I could buy some cloth… Do you know?"

Shippo shook himself out of his reverie and smiled politely at her. "I'm sorry… I had something on my mind. I'll show you where the shop is. Follow me."

"Oh, thank you very much!" The girl politely bowed and followed after Shippo.

Shippo smiled again and continued leading her. "Oh, by the way: My name is Shippo… What's your name?"

"I'm Mayu." She smiled at him. Shippo blushed slightly and looked away.

"So, where are you from? I haven't seen you around here before…"

"Oh… I live very far from here… I'm just out on an errand…" Mayu answered.

They were silent for a bit before Mayu decided to ask a question.

"Do you live here by yourself, Shippo?"

"Huh? Oh, no… I live with two very good friends of mine and their three children… They're like family to me…"

"You don't have your own family?"

Shippo sighed sadly. "My mother and father died when I was very young… But then I met Kagome and InuYasha. After a while, it was almost as if they were my parents…"

"How sad… my mother and father are gone too…"

Shippo blinked in surprise. "Really? So you live by yourself?"

"Well… not exactly… Oh look, we're at the shop!" Mayu smiled and rushed over to take a closer look at the cloth.

Shippo had stopped walking and was just looking curiously at her. _So she's an orphan too… Apparently she doesn't live by herself… but she didn't seem like she wanted to talk about it… I wonder why…_

The young fox-boy walked slowly over to Mayu. He hesitantly scratched the back of his head and nervously asked, "Say… umm, Mayu…"

Mayu turned around and smiled sweetly at him. "Yes, Shippo?"

"How 'bout… when you're done here… I… show you around? It could be fun…"

"I would like that…"

Again she smiled at him. Shippo blushed slightly (again) and after Mayu had paid for the cloth, they walked off…


	2. Late

_Disclaimer: Ok yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and I never will so let's get on with the story._

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**CHAPTER TWO: Late**

Shippo was having the time of his life. He was with a really nice (not to mention attractive) girl. The two of them became fast friends. They had walked throughout the entire village. Shippo would point something out or say something funny… and Mayu would giggle and smile. Yes, Shippo was a very happy fox demon. Now they were just relaxing by Shippo's favorite spot by the river…

"Shippo," Mayu said as she gave him one of her sweetest smiles. "Tell me more about your family…"

Shippo smiled back at her. "Alright… What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about your little brothers and sister… I've always wanted a younger sibling…"

"Well… I guess having them around is fun… Shirrow's a handful sometimes… and Noriko and Kotaro are still really young… They aren't much fun yet since they only want to do little kid things…"

Mayu giggled. "No, I mean tell me the good things about having them around…"

"Oh, okay…" Shippo cleared his throat. "Well, I guess it's fun most of the time… You never get lonely for one thing… And there's rarely a dull moment. Shirrow pretty funny… He tries to act tough like his dad, but he's still just a kid… He would never hurt anybody… Well, at least not intentionally…"

Mayu smiled warmly at Shippo. He smiled back. There was just something about the way she smiled at him… It made him so happy. ((A/N:Fruits Basket theme starts playing: _I was so happy when you smiled…_))

"What about Noriko… and Kotaro?"

"Heh, well Noriko's… it's like she really IS my baby sister. I'm pretty protective of her… At least, that's what Kagome says. She's real cute, too. She's a lot like Kagome… And Kotaro… I'm not sure how to describe him… a few weeks after he was born; InuYasha had me travel with a group of fox demons that were in the area. I just got back a few weeks ago… So I don't really know Kotaro that well yet. From what I can tell, he's a lot like Kagome… But he spends a lot of his time around InuYasha…"

"It seems like you have a great home, Shippo…" Mayu seemed sad when she said this. Shippo looked at her worriedly.

"So, what about you, Mayu?" Shippo asked, trying to change the subject. "I'm sure where you live it's great, too." He smiled at her.

Mayu half smiled. "I guess…"

Shippo frowned slightly. He didn't want to make her upset… he looked out towards the water. The wind caused it to ripple gently against the bank. The sunset was reflecting off of it's surface…

_Wait… sunset reflecting off of it's surface? _

Shippo looked up at the sky and winced. It was late.

_Oh man… not again! InuYasha's gonna be really angry this time…_

Mayu stared quizzically at Shippo. _I wonder what's wrong… _She thought. _He looks worried about something…_

"Shippo? What's wrong?"

Shippo looked over at her and sighed. "I'm sorry, Mayu… I have to go. I should've been home hours ago… InuYasha's angry with me already for being late yesterday, but now…"

"It's okay, Shippo. I understand. You should go. I don't want you to get into trouble…"

Shippo smiled. "Don't worry about me, Mayu. InuYasha might get angry, but he'd never try to REALLY hurt me…" Shippo looked away and blushed slightly. "So… will I see you tomorrow?"

Mayu blushed and looked down. "I… You might… I'll be here for a few more days… So if you just happened to be here in the village… W-we might bump into each other…"

Shippo smiled. "Great! How about I meet you here tomorrow? I mean… if you're not doing something else…"

"N-no, I'm not busy tomorrow… I'll come here at midday tomorrow..."

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow, Mayu… But I really have to go… Bye…"

"Bye, Shippo…"

With that happy thought of seeing Mayu again the next day, Shippo ran off in search of Shirrow and Mushin. He only hoped that InuYasha wasn't already looking for them…

_This is awful! If I don't find those two, Inuyasha will kill me! I hope that they didn't go back without me… _

As Shippo was running through the village, he was becoming more and more frantic. Suddenly he was lifted by the back of his shirt into the air. He gulped audibly and slowly turned to see an extremely angry InuYasha.

"H-hey, InuYasha…"

InuYasha only seemed to get angrier.

"So… you haven't seen Shirrow and Mushin around, have you? I turned away for two seconds and they were gone… Funny, huh?"

InuYasha growled. "Now that you mention it, I HAVE seen them. They're at home. They said you told them to walk around by themselves and that you'd walk them back later. Apparently you forgot to, because they came back by themselves. Except THEY weren't three hours late for dinner. In fact, THEY were right on time. So where the hell were you?"

"Well… You see I-"

"Feh, forget it. I don't care." InuYasha began running towards home. "Wherever you were, you're not going back until you can be on time for meals."

Shippo's eyes widened. "But, InuYasha! That's not fair! I'll be on time from now on… I promise!" _If I'm not there tomorrow, Mayu will think I was only tricking her…_

"Stop whining. You're staying home until you've learned your lesson."

Shippo stopped arguing. There was no point in continuing. InuYasha wouldn't listen. He'd try to get Kagome to understand when they got home.

……………………………

Shippo's day was getting worse…

"What do you mean, 'Listen to InuYasha'?"

Kagome sighed and continued cleaning the pot she had used to make dinner. "I'm sorry, Shippo. But InuYasha is right. You've been late for dinner a lot lately… I think that you staying home until you've learned your lesson is a good idea."

"But, Kagome, I don't try to be late on purpose! I just lose track of time! Please don't make me stay at home!"

"Shippo…"

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this, runt." InuYasha said gruffly. "You're staying home and that's all there is to it."

Shippo scowled at InuYasha and stormed off to his room he shared with Shirrow. He slammed the door, which woke up a sleeping Kotaro. His cries were heard, and he could here InuYasha cursing as he walked past his door on his way to Kotaro and Noriko's room.

_Fine, InuYasha… _Shippo thought angrily. _Be angry at me. See if I care. _

Shippo looked out the window and into the darkness of the night. _But I'm NOT going to just stay here... I'm going to see Mayu whether InuYasha let's me or not!_


	3. Feudal Japan's Worst Spies

_Disclaimer: Ok yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and I never will so let's get on with the story._

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**CHAPTER THREE: Feudal Japan's Worst Spies**

The next day, everything went normally. Shippo helped Kagome around the house along with Shirrow and Noriko, while InuYasha caught their lunch and dinner and watched Kotaro. After they had all finished their morning chores they went off to do their own things…

InuYasha yawned while he sat in a tree. He had been watching everyone from his perch for about an hour. Noriko and Kotaro were playing in front of the house under Kagome's watchful eyes, Shirrow was with Mushin trying to catch a rabbit, and Shippo had gone to his room. Yes, it was a peaceful day…

He yawned again, closed his eyes, and leaned against the trunk. It was the perfect day to take a nap…

…………………………

Shippo snuck out of his room and into Kagome and Inuyasha's room. Their room had a window that was in the back of the house. He could sneak out unnoticed since everyone was in the front. He poked his head out and checked his surroundings to be sure that no one was around to see him sneak out.

_Good… Everyone's still in front. I'll sneak out and come back before anyone realizes I'm gone…_

With that thought in mind, Shippo slipped out the window and silently made his way into the forest.

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InuYasha's ears perked up. Perhaps Shippo wasn't as quiet as he thought he was. InuYasha's gaze followed Shippo as he went into the forest behind their home.

_Shippo, _InuYasha thought. _Why are you doing this?_

He scowled and jumped down from his perch and grabbed the back of Shirrow's shirt.

"Oww! Dad, what're you doing?"

"Quiet." InuYasha turned over his shoulder. Kagome wasn't paying attention. She was still watching Kotaro and Noriko play. _Good. I don't want her to know that Shippo left yet…_

"Dad?"

"Listen up, guys… Shippo just left. I want you two to follow him."

"Why do we hafta' follow him? Why don't you go?" Shirrow asked.

"Oh come on, like you don't want to spy on Shippo without getting in trouble…" InuYasha smirked.

Shirrow thought it over, and looked towards Mushin, who also smirked. "Okay, we'll do it."

InuYasha nodded. "Good. Remember: don't be seen, and you're only there so you can follow Shippo. I don't want you two running off somewhere else… Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah we got it… So when do we come back home? When Shippo does?"

"Once you find out why he left, you come back here."

"Got it." Shirrow turned to Mushin. "C'mon, Mushin. We got a fox to follow."

The two of them ran off and Kagome came up to InuYasha.

"InuYasha, where are they going?"

"Uhh… I figured I'd let them wander around… I mean, they were by themselves yesterday since Shippo ditched them. And they didn't cause any trouble then, so I told them they could go wherever… As long as they were as good as they were yesterday…"

"Well, that was nice of you…" Kagome gave him one of her biggest smiles.

_Man, I hate having to lie to Kagome… But I don't want her to know that Shippo ran off… She'd only get worried, and she doesn't need that right now…_

"Yeah, I know…"

……………………………………

Shippo looked up at the sun. It was almost midday… He was just arriving at the entrance to the village. He had plenty of time to get to where he and Mayu had agreed to meet. He could walk to the spot and then rest from the long run he took to get to the village.

So he walked to the river and laid down to rest. It would be a little while before Mayu got there…

……………

"C'mon, Mushin! You're so slow!" Shirrow turned to look at his best friend. They had just arrived in the village.

"It isn't my fault I'm not part demon like you are, Shirrow!" Mushin was tired. His half-demon companion had wanted to run the entire way to the village to keep up with Shippo.

"Keh. I shoulda' just left you behind. You only slowed me down!"

"So what? It's not like we won't find Shippo now. You can just sniff him out, can't you?"

"Of course I can! It'd just be easier if we caught up to him so I wouldn't have to waste time trying to find him, that's all!"

Mushin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever…" He smirked. "Start sniffing, dog-boy!"

Shirrow glared at Mushin. "What did you…"

"Haha! Stupid half-dog can't even sniff out a fox!" Mushin teased. He knew it would just get Shirrow angry, but he was so much fun to annoy… ((A/N: not to mention easy!))

"That's it!" Shirrow swung an arm at Mushin which he easily ducked under.

Mushin stuck out his tongue mockingly and ran off. "Catch me if you can, Shirrow!"

Shirrow growled and ran off after him. "Get back here, Mushin!"

A group of village women that had been watching the two of them laughed as they ran off.

"Oh, those two… they're always causing such a fuss…"

"Yes, but they keep the village entertained."

"They're so adorable…!"

……………

Mayu walked towards the river. She was happy.

_I get to see Shippo again… I hope he didn't get into too much trouble for being late for dinner yesterday… _

See continued walking until she could see the top of Shippo's head resting against the ground by the river.

_There he is!_

She smoothed out her skirt and walked down towards him. He looked up and smiled when she sat next to him. Then he sat up too.

"Hey Mayu! How are you today?" He asked.

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking…" Mayu looked down at her knees. "Shippo… you…"

Shippo looked at her curiously.

"You didn't get into too much trouble… did you? I'm really sorry if you did…"

Shippo smiled. "Aww, don't worry about me, Mayu. I got into trouble, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle."

May seemed relieved. _Thank goodness…_

"Yeah…" Shippo continued. "InuYasha isn't that tough… I can take him on easily…" ((A/N: Putting it on a little thick… don't you think, Shippo?))

Mayu smiled at him.

……………

"Mushin, get back here! I'll tear your stupid head off!"

Mushin continued running. Luckily, he had gotten a head start and Shirrow was growing tired from running the entire way to the village. Fortunately, Mushin had only run part of the way and half-jogged the rest.

_If he thinks threatening me will get me to slow down, he's mistaken! _Mushin thought.

He spared a moment to glance back at Shirrow. _Yep, he's still pretty angry. Oh well… Hey is that…?_

Mushin slowed down and continued looking off to the side.

_Keh… _Shirrow thought menacingly. _That idiot! He's gonna get it now!_

Just as Shirrow was right behind him, Mushin suddenly stopped. Shirrow rammed into his back and they both fell to the ground.

"What was THAT for, Idi- OWW!"

Shirrow put a hand on his head where Mushin had smacked him.

"Now what're you-"

"Shh! Shirrow, keep it down!" Mushin said.

"Why should I?" Shirrow responded with a glare.

Mushin rolled his eyes, put a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet, and pointed down the hill towards the river.

"Look." He whispered. "It's Shippo… and some girl is with him."

"Ah! Good work, Mushin!" Shirrow said, forgetting about his friend's teasing. "Now we just need to find out why he's there with that girl."

"Maybe she's why he snuck out…"

"No way! You mean he snuck out just so he could see a GIRL? Not likely, moron."

Mushin shrugged. "Maybe he likes her…"

"Keh… yeah right…"

"Well, she IS fairly attractive… OW! Why'd you hit me?"

"Quit acting like your dad! We're s'posed to be spying on Shippo, remember?" Shirrow crawled slightly closer to try to hear what they were saying…

Mushin rubbed the back of his head and crawled after Shirrow. "So what're they saying?"

"Shh…" Shirrow perked up his ears. "Her name's Mayu…"

"What else?"

"Something about how she hopes he didn't get into too much trouble yesterday…"

"Maybe Shippo was with her yesterday too! I bet he likes her! Why else would he keep sneaking off to see her?"

Shirrow nodded and continued listening. "Now he's asking about her family… She's trying to change the subject…"

"Why do you think she's doing that?" Mushin asked quizzically.

"Dunno…"

Suddenly Shippo turned around. He was looking right at them. Shirrow tried desperately to get as close to the ground as he could so that Shippo wouldn't see him. Mushin did the same.

Shippo scowled. "How long have you two been there? Shirrow! Mushin! Get down here!"

The two boys sighed. They got up and began to walk down the small hill towards Shippo and Mayu.

"Stupid Shippo…" Shirrow muttered.


	4. Shirrow

_Disclaimer: Ok yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and I never will so let's get on with the story._

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**CHAPTER FOUR: Shirrow**

Shippo scowled as Shirrow and Mushin made their way down to him. _How dare they listen in on Mayu and me! I wonder if InuYasha knows I sneaked out…_

"Well, you two have some explaining to do." Shippo scolded. "Why were you listening in on what we were saying?"

Shirrow 'hmphed' "Like we'd tell you! You weren't even s'posed to leave the house! How 'bout YOU explain to US what YOU were doing!"

"What _I_ do is none of your business, Shirrow. Besides, I thought you two weren't allowed to come here unless someone else was with you!"

"Well, Dad told us we could go!" Shirrow shouted.

"Yeah!" Mushin chimed in. "And he's really mad that you left, too!"

Shippo turned white. "Y-you mean he knows I left?"

"Of course he does! That's why he told us to come here!" Shirrow smirked. _Heh, Shippo's in so much trouble!_

"He… told you to come…?"

"Shippo?" Mayu asked. "What's going on? Did you really sneak out of the house when you weren't supposed to?"

Shippo turned slowly to Mayu. "…Yeah. I didn't want to not come and have you think that I didn't like you or something…"

"Why didn't you just ask them if you could come just one more time?"

"Well, I… They wouldn't have listened to me…"

Shirrow smirked. "Yeah, but you never told them you wanted to go see your _girlfriend_! Hahaha…!"

Shippo and Mayu blushed brightly. "W-WHAT'RE YOU…!"

Shirrow and Mushin started laughing and singing. "Shippo and Mayu: sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Shippo with a baby carriage! Hahahaa…!"

Shippo was fuming. "Why you…!"

Shippo would do anything to get away from Mayu at the moment. He was so embarrassed. He was going to start chasing them through the town, but Mayu held him back. She was still blushing.

"Shippo, are these two the ones you've told me about? Shirrow and Mushin?"

Shippo also continued to blush. "Y-yeah. The one with dog ears is Shirrow. And that's Mushin." He said, pointing them out. "Did you want to say anything to them before I kill them?"

Shirrow and Mushin stopped laughing.

"C'mon, Shippo…" Shirrow said cautiously. "Can't you take a joke?"

"Shippo, don't be mean to them… They're only little kids…" Mayu said.

Shippo sighed. "I guess you're right…" He gave Shirrow a glare that said he would deal with him when he got home, and turned back to Mayu.

Mayu smiled at him and walked over to the two boys sitting on the ground looking up at her. She sat on her heels in front of them and smiled. Mushin half-smiled and turned away. Shirrow stared right at her, but refused to smile.

"Hi, I'm Mayu. It's nice to get to meet you both."

Shirrow continued to hold her gaze. Mushin looked back at her. Neither said a word.

"You know, Shippo's told me that you two are a handful sometimes. But I don't see how anyone that's as cute as you two are could be so much trouble!" She smiled at them.

Mushin's eyes lit up. _A girl that's older then I am thinks I'm cute!_ "Well, you're pretty cute too, Mayu. I can see why Shippo snuck out to see you!"

Shirrow elbowed his friend in the chest. Mushin fell onto the grass.

"Ow! Shirrow, why'd you..!"

"Just shut up. And she's not cute." Shirrow glared at Mayu, who was saddened by his outburst. "C'mon. Let's go." He grabbed Mushin by the arm and pulled him up to the road again, out of hearing range, and eventually out of the village.

Shippo scowled in the direction Shirrow and Mushin had gone. _What's up with Shirrow? There was no excuse for saying that Mayu wasn't cute! That was just rude! _

He looked at Mayu. She was still sitting there, shocked. But who wouldn't be? Shippo walked over to her, sat behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't listen to Shirrow, Mayu. He doesn't know what he's talking about."

"But… why would he say that?"

"I don't know. I don't understand that kid sometimes. Maybe it just annoyed him that Mushin said that you were cute… I don't know what he was thinking… I mean…" Shippo gulped. "I mean 'cause… well, you are cute…" he blushed.

Mayu smiled and wiped away a stray tear. "You mean that, Shippo?"

"Well, of course I do! I wouldn't lie about something like that!" ((A/N: aww))

Mayu giggled. "That's good… because I think you're cute too!"

Shippo's eyes widened "Whaaa…?"

As he sat there, stunned, Mayu turned around and hugged him. Eventually he came out of his reverie and hugged back.

……………………………………………………

"Shirrow! C'mon, talk to me!" Mushin had been trying to get him to talk for the past fifteen minutes. So far, his efforts were fruitless. Mushin scowled and jumped in front of Shirrow's path to make him stop.

Shirrow scowled. "What?"

"What's with you? Ever since Shippo saw us, you've been acting weird."

"So? What's your point?" Shirrow looked away.

"So what's wrong?" Mushin questioned. "You didn't really act like you liked Mayu at all."

"That's because I don't."

"How come? She seemed nice enough…"

"Because if they end up liking each other, then Shippo's gonna leave again and then I won't see him anymore!" Shirrow shouted. "It was bad enough when he was gone last time. And that was only two years, this time it'd be forever…"

Mushin looked sadly at his disgruntled friend. He understood now. _Shirrow just doesn't want Shippo to leave again… I guess it would be hard for him to have to say good-bye again so soon after Shippo came back…_

"Look, Shirrow," Mushin tried to reason. "It's not like Shippo really wants to leave… I mean he didn't want to leave last time… And even if he did go, he'd stay close to home so he wouldn't have to be so far away from you guys."

Shirrow sighed and started walking again. Mushin followed after. "But it's like he doesn't even like it here anymore. He's always going off by himself, and yesterday I heard him talking to your dad. He said it was boring around here! …Let's face it, Mushin. Shippo wants to leave."

The two boys continued walking in silence. Neither of them wanted Shippo to go, but if what Shirrow said was true, they'd be saying good-bye in no time. When they passed Mushin's house on the way back, it was time for him to go home anyway, so he went inside. Shirrow didn't stop to say hi to his aunt and uncle. He just wanted to go home.

Once he got within ten feet of his house, he could hear his mother inside. She was worrying about where Shippo was. He walked up the steps and the door slid open to reveal InuYasha.

"So where was he?"

Shirrow walked past him and said, "With some girl."

His father grabbed the back of his shirt and lifted him up. "Who was she?"

"Some fox-demon. She's new to the village. Her name is Mayu. Can I go now?" Shirrow answered in a slightly annoyed tone.

InuYasha sniffed at his son's clothes and scowled. "Right after you tell me how the hell you managed to get caught. Shippo's scent is all over you."

"So what if he saw us? I found out what you wanted me to, didn't I?"

"Hmph…" InuYasha let go of his shirt and Shirrow dropped to the ground with a soft 'thud' as his father crossed his arms. "You need to train more if you can't even sneak up on someone as weak as Shippo."

"Who's weak?" Shippo asked from the doorway.

InuYasha scowled. "So, did you have fun while you were out? Feh… What happened to: 'you can't leave until you've learned your lesson'?"

Shippo sighed. "I just forgot, okay?"

"Feh. Yeah right! Shirrow tells me that you went to see some girl. So what's her story?"

Shippo glanced at Shirrow and glared, and then turned back to InuYasha. He didn't seem willing to be patient and wait long for a response. Shippo looked away. "She's new to the village… I met her yesterday. That's why I was late coming home…" Then Shippo looked right at InuYasha. "And there's no way that I'm going to stay home if it means I can't see her! I don't know how much longer she's going to be here and I don't want to miss a minute of it!"

InuYasha 'hmphed', turned and began walking towards the main room. "Whatever. I can't exactly blame you for liking this girl…" Shippo blushed. "Tell her to come by. We might as well meet her."

"W…What? You mean… invite her over here to eat?" his blush deepened.

"I don't see why not… Have her come tomorrow if she's going to be around." It was more of an order than a suggestion.

"Y-yeah… sure…" _This is just great… How am I going to pull this off? I could barely tell her that I thought she was cute! How am I going to manage to ask her to dinner? Oh well… I guess I'll figure something out…_


	5. Meet the Parents

_Disclaimer: Ok yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and I never will so let's get on with the story._

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**CHAPTER FIVE: Meet the Parents**

Shippo went to meet Mayu the next day. He had told her that he'd come back whether InuYasha let him or not. But it seemed that persuading the old dog demon ((A/N: well he's at LEAST over 50)) wasn't that difficult. Now he found himself walking to the village. _Come to think of it… _Shippo thought. _InuYasha didn't even put up a fight when I told him I was going to visit Mayu again today… That's so unlike him! I expected at least a little resistance! _

Shippo sighed and looked up into the sky as he thought of the night before at dinner.

_**Flashback**_

Everyone ate in silence. Even Kotaro, who usually knocks over his food, was very quiet. Even he could sense the tension in the air between his father and Shippo.

Kagome sighed and thought about the girl that Shippo had said he met in the village. It was obvious that he liked her. If he didn't, then he wouldn't have snuck out to see her.

Shippo placed his nearly empty bowl on the floor and cleared his throat. Everyone looked towards him except InuYasha, who only perked up his ears but continued eating.

Kagome sighed. _Of course InuYasha won't act like he cares… He's such a baby sometimes… _"Yes, Shippo? What is it?"

"I'm going to keep seeing Mayu." He looked at InuYasha. "Whether I'm allowed to or not. She means too much to me for me to not be allowed to see her. So I'm going."

Shirrow scoffed and turned back to his meal.

InuYasha set his bowl down and stood up. "Do what you want. You're inviting her over, so you'll have to see her tomorrow anyway."

He walked over and kissed Kagome to thank her for cooking yet another delicious meal, and then walked outside to sit on the porch. Kagome sighed and walked after him.

Noriko watched her parents leave the room, and then turned to Shippo. "Shippo, do you like this Mayu girl?"

Shippo blushed slightly. "Yeah, I do…" he turned to his 'sister'. "Why?"

"I was just wondering…" She looked down at her food and after a moment, looked back at him. "Is she pretty?"

Shippo smiled. "Yeah…"

"Prettier than Mommy?"

"Uhh… well, they're both equally pretty…" _Actually, Mayu's prettier…_

"Wow…" Noriko smiled. "I can't wait to meet her! I bet she's really nice too!"

"Nice! Nice!" Kotaro chimed in happily.

Shirrow scowled and left the room unnoticed. As he passed the door to the outside, he could hear his mother and father talking quietly about Shippo and this mysterious girl he had met. He continued to his room where he laid on his bed and began to read some manga his mother had brought for him from her time. ((A/N: ok, this part Shippo didn't see, but I put it in anyway.))

**_End of Flashback _**

Shippo sighed. _I still don't know what's going to happen if Mayu DOES come to dinner, though… I hope everything goes well… Maybe she'll tell us about her family… I doubt it though… I mean, she won't even talk about it with me…_

He let his thoughts wander as he continued to the village. After a couple more minutes he arrived at the entrance and made his way towards their meeting place. He smiled when he saw her waiting for him by the water.

She turned and smiled when she saw him. _He came back… _She ran up to him and hugged him.

"Welcome back, Shippo. I missed you…"

"I missed you too, Mayu… So, umm… I have a question…"

"Yes? What is it?" she asked him curiously.

"Would you… umm…" _C'mon, Shippo! _He thought. _Go for it! _"W-wouldyouliketocomeoverfordinner?" Shippo said the last part as quickly as possible.

"Would I what?"

Shippo blushed. "C-come over for dinner… would you like to?"

Mayu smiled. "Of course I would!"

Shippo blushed more deeply. "G-great! Umm… how does tonight sound?"

Mayu laughed. _Shippo's being so silly! _"It sounds great. When should I…?"

"Oh! Well, I'll walk you there since you don't know the way… I'll uhh… come get you a couple of hours before sundown, ok?"

She smiled again and said, "Alright, but why don't you just stay here so you don't have to come back later?"

"Y-yeah… ok…"

And so they spent the afternoon together. They talked about many things, but once again, Mayu danced around the subject of her family and where she lived. Shippo just decided to let it go.

_If she doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't make her…_

Later on, it was time for them to get going so they could make it back on time. So they left.

…………………………………

"Mommy, when's Shippo going to get here with Mayu? I want to meet her!" Noriko continued to look out the window. She had been waiting for hours for Shippo to come back home.

Kagome sighed and continued preparing dinner. "Be patient, Noriko… They'll be here soon. Don't worry."

InuYasha came through the door carrying a bag of groceries. "Hey, Kagome! I got the stuff you asked your mom to buy for tonight."

Kagome smiled. "Thanks InuYasha. Just put it over there…" She casually waved her hand off to the side and continued cooking.

He walked over and set down the bag by the wall she had motioned to. Then he went over to her and gave her a kiss. ((A/N: aww…))

She smiled and then looked over at the window and sighed. "Noriko, Shippo will be back soon. Now come away from the window."

"But, Mommy!" she whined. "I want to be the first one to see Mayu! Can't I wait just a little longer?"

InuYasha half smiled and walked over to his daughter and picked her up and held her under his arm so she was facing away from the window. "Listen to Mommy, Nori-Chan… They'll be back soon and then we'll all get to meet… oh hey, here they come now… Guess Shippo wasn't lyin' when he said she was pretty…"

Noriko squirmed in her father's grasp. "Daddy! I wanted to see her first! Why'd you take me away from the window? Now I didn't get to see her!"

He loosened his grip and she freed herself and looked out the window at them. "It's not like you missed anything… It's not like she's prettier than your mom or nothin'…"

Kagome smiled. "Well, I'd hope she's not. I don't want you running off with her, InuYasha."

"Yeah, like I'd run off with a teenaged fox-demon…" he scoffed.

Kagome giggled. She loved teasing him.

Noriko turned from the window. "Mommy, can I go outside to greet them? I want to be the first one to say hi to her… Please?"

Her mother smiled and nodded, and she jumped happily, rushed to the door, slid it open, and rushed out to greet Shippo and Mayu.

"Hi!" She greeted happily, "My name is Noriko."

Mayu smiled. "It's very nice to meet you, Noriko… My name is Mayu."

"Oh, I already know your name. Shippo told me!" Noriko said happily. "He also told me that you were pretty… and he was right!"

Mayu blushed and glanced at Shippo. "Oh… well thank you…"

Noriko simply smiled and grabbed Mayu's hand and started pulling her towards the house. "Well, let's go inside now." She grabbed Shippo's hand as well. "Mommy and Daddy and Kotaro want to meet you, too!"

"Alright."

So they walked into the house. Noriko wanted to give their guest a tour, but Shippo insisted that she meet InuYasha and Kagome first. They walked into the main room where Kagome was still busily preparing dinner and Kotaro was nearby with a toy. Kagome looked up and saw Mayu and Shippo and smiled politely.

"Hi. I'm Kagome. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, yes… It's nice to meet you as well…" Mayu replied with a bow.

Kagome laughed and stood up. "You don't have to act so formal. You can relax."

Mayu's smile faltered for a brief moment. "Y… you're a human…"

Kagome frowned slightly.

"Yeah, so what's wrong with her being human?" InuYasha asked gruffly from the doorway.

"N-nothing… I just… I was expecting her to be a demon… like how I wasn't expecting you to be a half demon…"

InuYasha growled softly.

"I-I don't mean that in a bad way… I just… Shippo never told me that the friends he stayed with were a half demon and a human… I just wasn't expecting it. That's all…"

"Feh." InuYasha came into the room and sat by Kagome, who had sat back down, and helped her finish dinner. "Well, if you're that bothered by it, then go home."

"InuYasha!" Kagome scolded. Then she turned to Mayu. "You'll have to excuse him. He's like this sometimes… But he's really a big softy. He just puts on a tough guy act." She smiled.

"Wha? I do not!"

"Sit, boy." InuYasha collided face-first with the floor. Kagome turned to Mayu and Shippo. "Well, take a seat. Dinner will be ready in a little bit."

So they all sat and talked… and talked and sat… and sat and talked some more. Kotaro had decided that he liked Mayu right off the bat and sat near her. Shirrow had come home from being with Mushin later on. He said hello grumpily and then went to his room to read manga.

After eating, they continued to sit. InuYasha hadn't really said much the entire night. He just sat and listened. But now he broke the silence.

"So what about your family? You keep avoiding that whenever it's brought up."

"InuYasha…" Kagome warned. "If she doesn't want to talk about it, then she doesn't have to."

"We let her into our home and gave her dinner! It's the least she could do to tell us that!" InuYasha stated impatiently.

Kagome frowned. "InuYasha…"

"No…" Mayu said as she watched them. "It's okay… He's right… It's the least I could do…" 


	6. Secrets

_Disclaimer: Ok yeah, I don't own Inuyasha and I never will so let's get on with the story._

……………………………………………………………………………………………

_**TO THE READERS:** Well people… This will be the last chapter for this story. I know it's a lot shorter than my other ones, but that's because I had only intended for this to be a one-shot. Yeah, that plan failed. But it ended up going pretty well. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it._

_-Japanime625_

……………………………………………………………………………………………

**CHAPTER SIX: Secrets**

Everyone looked at Mayu expectantly. Shippo was thoroughly interested. Now he would know why Mayu never spoke about her family.

Mayu absent mindedly wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt. She was nervous._ I really don't want to tell them… But Shippo should know…_

InuYasha scowled. She was taking too long. He was about to tell her to hurry it up when Shirrow interrupted.

"So are you gonna tell us, or not? We're waiting…"

Kagome looked at her son and frowned. "Shirrow!"

"What? If she's gonna tell us, then she should just get it over with…"

Kagome was going to scold him for being rude, but Mayu suddenly spoke up.

"You're right, Shirrow…" she said quietly. "I'm sorry…"

Everything was quiet. Mayu took a minute or two to gather her thoughts and clear her throat before starting.

"Y-you see… I… I really don't even have a family."

InuYasha looked at her quizzically. "So… you live by yourself?"

"Yes… well, that is… I didn't used to…" She looked down at her lap.

"Well, which is it?" he asked grumpily.

"InuYasha," Kagome sighed. "Be nice… She's trying…"

"Well, she should try harder. We're not getting anywhere…"

"I… I ran away…"

Everyone turned to look back at Mayu. Before anyone could ask why, she continued.

"Everyone else in my family was slain when I was very young. I had no where else to go, and I ended up being forced to serve a cold-hearted lord that ruled close to where I lived.

He despised demons and he only had us around to keep as slaves. We were forced to work outside during winter… Only a few of us had warm clothes… So many demons died from sickness each year…

The horrible working conditions continued year after year… Eventually, some of the older demons started a revolt and some of us managed to escape with our lives.

I'm afraid that the lord that ruled over us might have sent out people to try and find anyone that managed to escape. I don't think I should stay in this village much longer in case they're getting close… I need to keep going…"

Everyone was silent as they let what Mayu told them sink in. No one had expected her to say anything like THAT.

Shippo sighed and walked out of the room. _It figures that I'd fall in love with someone that wouldn't be able to stay in the village…_

Kagome watched him leave. "Shippo… Where-"

InuYasha put his hand over hers and she looked at him. He merely shook his head and patted her hand lightly before getting up and following the young fox demon.

Suddenly, there was a sniffle.

"I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean to make him upset. I just… I thought he should know before it's too late…"

InuYasha turned around. He knew that scent all too well. _Great… Now she's crying… _He looked back towards the door. Shippo was sitting outside. There was no doubt that he would still be able to hear what anyone said inside. _Shippo will have to wait. She needs us more than he does…_

So the dog demon went back over to them, sat next to Shirrow, and listened. Kagome sat next to her, and tried to get her to stop crying. After a few minutes, she calmed down and Kagome told her she should go talk to Shippo. Mayu agreed and went to sit outside with him.

Kagome took InuYasha's hand in her own and pulled him along with her out of the room, down the hall, and into their bedroom.

InuYasha closed the door silently after he entered the room. "What is it?"

"We should help her…"

He sighed. "Kagome…"

"I know… You don't like 'playing the good guy' all the time… You've told me before. But we can't let her go through this on her own."

"It's not that… Shippo should be the one to help her. If I go and save the day, what will that help him accomplish? Mayu's in love with him, not me. She would want him to be the one to help her."

"Yeah, but…"

"But what? You want them both to be happy, right?"

She nodded.

"Then let Shippo have his chance to help her."

Kagome frowned slightly and looked out the window. "But what if his idea of helping is to run away and stay with her to act as a body guard?"

InuYasha hugged her. "Well, then we'll try to persuade him to let us help…"

"And if he won't let us?"

He was silent for a moment, and placed his chin on the top of her head. "I guess we'd let him go…"

Everything was silent. Kagome let her thoughts wander to back when they had first met Shippo. She had loved him like a son.

The door creaked open and they turned to see Shippo standing in the doorway. He looked upset as he looked up at them.

"Would you be angry with me, Kagome?"

She looked at him, slightly confused. "For what, Shippo?"

"For leaving with Mayu…" He looked away. "I don't want her to get hurt… and I know she can't stay here as long as they're looking for her. So, I'm going to run away with her to keep her safe…"

Kagome knelt down and hugged the fox demon tightly and tears began to fall. "No… No I wouldn't be angry… You do what you have to."

Shippo hugged her back. "I'll miss you, Kagome. We'll come back someday."

"I know you will…"

"Shippo… You're leaving again?"

They turned to see three sets of eyes watching from the doorway. The one that spoke was Noriko.

Kagome wiped the last of her tears away and stood up as he daughter walked towards her adopted older brother.

"Yeah, Noriko… I'm leaving again…"

Tears welled up in her eyes. "Promise you'll come back?"

He smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah. I promise."

Shirrow scowled and wiped away a tear he hoped nobody had noticed. "You better come back, fox! Or else I'll come looking for you to kick your sorry butt!"

Shippo continued smiling. "I know…"

Shirrow 'hmphed' and wiped away another tear before running at Shippo and hugging him.

The young fox demon looked over at Kotaro. The tiny half demon stared at him curiously with big eyes. Shippo pulled Shirrow off of him and walked over to his youngest sibling.

"Kotaro… I know you don't really know me that well… And that you prob'ly won't even remember who I am when I come back… But you should know that I'm gonna miss you too…"

They hugged and Shippo said his final good byes and walked out the door…

……………………………………………

Shippo and Mayu came across Myoga one day a week later. They sent him back to InuYasha with a message saying that they were doing fine and that they shouldn't worry about them. Kagome was happy to hear from them. She had been worried.

Myoga became their personal messenger. ((A/N: Although, he didn't like it very much…)) They would let each other know how everything was going through him.

After hearing the latest message from Shippo, InuYasha smiled. _It's good to know they're okay… _

He looked at Shirrow and smirked. "C'mon, Shirrow. Let's go outside. It's time for you to train a little bit."

His son rolled his eyes and sighed. "Do I have to?"

"Well, yeah." He replied. "You have to get stronger if you plan on beating up Shippo if he doesn't come back, right?"

Shirrow smiled. "Yeah, you're right."

And the two of them walked out side. Today, InuYasha threw a rabbit pelt. The instructions were simple.

"Go find it."

With that said, Shirrow began following after the scent as InuYasha jumped into the branches of a tree to think over the last couple of weeks…

………THE END………


End file.
